Family Bonds
by ginnyrules27
Summary: *set after Criss-Crossed* After Chris comes back from the future, the sisters notice that he's more closed off than usual. When they go to confront him, however, they're interrupted by three new time travelers. Can the three help Chris on his mission and, more importantly, help keep his secret? *Chris Revelation story*
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

* * *

A/N: I do not own any of the characters from Charmed. The only ones I own are Jake and Emily-jury's out on Melinda/Mel as she is not canon in the show but she does appear in the Charmed comics.

I'd like to give a shout out to Swt Charmed Fan for agreeing to Beta this story! I can't wait to continue to work with them as I write more chapters.

Let me know what you think and please be sure to leave a review!

* * *

It was a quiet day in the Halliwell manor and for once, the three sisters seemed to be having a normal day. The three of them were lounging in the sun room, sipping on iced tea and smiling at the almost one year old playing on the ground. Phoebe was even using this time to catch up on some work that had fallen to the wayside as her column had increased in reader popularity.

Paige and Phoebe, both of whom had briefly moved out of the manor during the incident with Bianca and Chris, had decided to move back home. Phoebe said it was because she couldn't let Piper handle everything by herself with running the club and taking care of Wyatt, on top of dealing with their neurotic whitelighter. Paige on the other hand couldn't help but feel stifled at Richard's since her self-inflicted magic ban. Don't get me wrong, she still loved him—it was hard though finding a balance between spending time with the man she loved and the talents she was born with.

One would think they'd be enjoying the down time, especially as their new whitelighter had been driving them on a demon vanquish hunt almost since he arrived in their lives. In fact, one would think they'd be happy to not see said whitelighter due to all the secrets he kept and the lies he had spun. Alas, one would find that was not the case.

"I know I'm basically cursing our very rare downtime," Paige said, looking up from her sketch pad and looking at her older sisters, "but does anyone else feel concerned about Chris? He hasn't been the same since he came back from the future."

Indeed, Chris had been more abrupt and closed off since the incident two weeks ago. Any attempts to talk to him had been met with either a lengthy conversation about the demon de jour or blue and white orbs glaring in your eyes as the younger man left to go Elders know where.

"Well do you blame him, Paige?" Phoebe asked as she set down one of the many letters she was trying to respond to. Chris puzzled her as well, especially since she hadn't gotten a reading off of his emotions since the incident with Bianca. Phoebe suspected that Chris may have taken another Empath blocking potion and unfortunately it wasn't entirely out of the question. "I mean he had to leave his fiancée in the future. Not to mention she betrayed him and is now realistically dead, if what he said when he came back is true."

"Good afternoon madam buzzkill," Piper looked over at her baby sister but didn't disagree. "I know we've all be enjoying these past demon few days but Phoebe's right. I mean, I don't trust Chris anymore now than I did then—especially since he lied about being just a whitelighter—"

"Hey!"

"Paige, I don't mean anything by it," Piper shook her head at her little sister. "I just mean that if he'd been honest about his witch side, we might have a better time trusting him now. What else is he hiding? Also, why couldn't he join us on these demon hunts he always sent us on?"

"That's…a good point," Paige agreed. "Still, it does explain why he couldn't heal. Remember I had trouble at first too—still do in fact. Plus, maybe he was ashamed of his witch side?"

"Anyway, shouldn't we maybe comfort Chris?" Phoebe said, steering the subject away from dangerous waters. "I mean, it's been a couple of weeks and he probably thinks we don't trust him at all. He could get hurt if he's trying to take on the demons by himself. Especially if he's trying to take on upper level demons by himself."

Piper sighed. "You're right Phoebs. Chris is at best getting over the betrayal of his fiancée, which we all know how that can sting. At worst, he's grieving and trying to suppress it. I know better than anyone how dangerous it can be to not address your grief. We don't want another fury on our hands, especially as now we don't have anything for Chris to rage at."

"So what are we waiting for?!" Paige jumped up and set her sketch pad on the side table. "We all know where he is after all—if he's not in the Underworld, he's glued to the book."

Phoebe and Piper both chuckled at their younger sister's antics and soon all three of the girls found their way up the stairs toward the attic of the Halliwell manor. It was a well known path for the three women and even with a slight detour as Piper set Wyatt down for a nap, they still made it to the attic ten minutes later.

Putting a hand on the door, Paige hoped that their neurotic whitelighter from the future was in fact there and that he'd be in the mood to talk. She couldn't admit it to Piper and Phoebe but it was nice to have another half whitelighter half witch in the manor who didn't need to have his diaper changed constantly. Even if said half witch half whitelighter was almost impossible to talk to if the subject was anything other than protecting Wyatt or demons.

"Hey Paige?" Phoebe whispered, breaking Paige out of her thoughts. "You going to open the door soon?"

"Sorry," Paige whispered back and opened the door leading to the attic, stepping aside to let her sisters pass her. To their surprise, their whitelighter was standing hunched over the Book of Shadows. Chris had been extremely difficult to track down and often only came to the Manor to look over the book or to gather the sisters if the Power of Three was needed.

It hadn't been needed much in the weeks since Bianca died.

"Chris?" Phoebe called out, walking toward him, inwardly wincing as she caught sight of bruising around his neck. It had been much more visible after he arrived from the future but you could still see a faint outline. It stood out more due to how pale the younger man had gotten over the past couple of weeks. The only thing that seemed to stand out more were the bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. "You going to look up from that book?"

"Yeah, that can't be good for your neck," Paige nodded as she walked into the attic. Chris looked up with a start and then seemed to relax upon seeing the sisters. Well, as much as Chris could relax, that was. Whatever happened to him in the future caused him to become even more alert, if such a thing was possible. Even the few times Phoebe had walked in on him crashed out on the sofa in the attic, Chris managed to stay as tense as possible—as if waiting for the next attack.

"Oh, hey," Chris nodded and then looked back up with a furrowed brow. Paige could almost see the cogs churning around in his brain. Ever since he came back from the future, he was extremely attentive to where Wyatt was—it almost rivaled Piper at times. "What's going on? Where's Wyatt?"

"Taking a nap," Piper said, sitting down on one of the many odd chairs the Halliwells had up in their attic that hadn't been destroyed by demon attacks or Piper's powers going haywire, and held up a small baby monitor to try to let Chris know that Wyatt was still being looked after. "You know Chris, all work and no play makes you a dull witch. You want to take a break?"

Chris sighed and ran a hand through his hair, which was lying rather limp on his head. Almost as if he hadn't washed it for a few days—and Phoebe would be surprised if he had. The Underworld wasn't known for its running water.

 _Neither was the office in P3,_ she thought with a frown. That tiny office barely counted as a bedroom.

"I'm fine Piper," he said, his emotionless mask firmly in place. "Look, I'm no closer to figuring out how to save the future than I was a couple weeks ago."

"Yeah but a couple weeks ago you were coming to us for help," Paige pointed out. Phoebe bit back a smile at Chris' expression as he heard that.

"Unbelievable! I can't win," he shook his head in disbelief. "First you complain about all the demon hunts and vanquishes, telling me that you want separate lives from your duties as the Charmed Ones. Now when I decide to grant your request, you're coming to me not happy about the fact that I'm not coming to you with demon hunts and vanquishes."

"Well when you put it that way," Phoebe chuckled causing Chris to sigh once more and drop his head back into his reading. The sisters were at a loss, unsure of their next move. The silence was almost suffocating as the only sound came from the scratch of Chris' pen on paper. As he looked back up, his look of shock almost made Phoebe burst out laughing—almost. It was rare to shock their bitchy whitelighter, let alone for him to actually show it.

"Was there something you guys needed?" Chris asked, as he tore a page out of his notebook and crammed it into his pocket, which looked filled to the brim with pieces from his spiral notebook. "Cause I've got to go…"

They never found out what it was that Chris was going to do because all of a sudden, the wall to his right began to glow blue. Phoebe backed up and subconsciously placed a hand on the Book of Shadows. She had seen this before—granted she had also seen it when Bianca took Chris back to the future but she also saw it when a demon stole the Book of Shadows four years ago. If it was the latter, she'd like to be prepared.

"What's going on?" Paige asked but before anyone had the chance to answer, three young looking people jumped through the portal. Thankfully, it closed up after the three of them landed on the attic's floor because otherwise the sisters might have prepared themselves for a fight.

"Okay, who are they?" Piper turned and asked Chris but stopped as a look of unfamiliar fury broke through her normally unemotional whitelighter. He stormed over to the group and grabbed the lone male by the collar.

"What the hell?" the young man exclaimed and tried to wriggle free but Chris had a vice like grip on his collar and had now pinned him to the wall. "Chris, come on! Let me go!"

"What are you doing here?!" Chris growled, his body tensed and it was clear that if this stranger wasn't careful, he could end up on Chris' vanquish list. If he wasn't already on it, that is.

"Saving your sister's ass, you jerk! Now let me go!" the younger man exclaimed, motioning to one of the girls lying motionless on the floor. Phoebe gasped upon seeing the state of the young girl, no, woman. Her light brown hair lay limp and draped over her face like a curtain, with small cuts littering her face and arms. Her pinched face and skinny body suggested, like the other time travelers, that she had lost a lot of weight in a rapid amount of time. However, the gaping hole in her abdomen concerned the middle Halliwell witch more.

Piper and Paige exchanged shocked looks—they had never thought of Chris having a sibling before. He just seemed like the loner type, and with his no nonsense attitude the sisters ended up treating him the way they did the Elders sometimes—simply ignoring the request. However, the mixed look of shock and pain on Chris' face destroyed that image in Piper's head. It was clear that Chris couldn't have been more than 20—far too young to have all this happen to him.

"Mel?" Chris gasped, dropping the younger man and knelt down next to the woman. He gently brushed some of her hair out of her face, unaware of the sisters' presence in the attic."Mel, what are you doing here?"

"H-helping you," Mel gasped out and Phoebe winced as the unfettered emotions of the new time travelers seemed to hit her at once. The constant stream of pain, fear, shock, anger, and love was so intense that it almost knocked her over."Demon energy balls hurt like a b-bitch though."

"Language," Chris warned but the light smile killed any sense of reprimand he was going for.

"Y-yes mom," Mel said, wincing as a bolt of pain shot up her body. Chris quickly grabbed her hand and gave it a quick squeeze, as if reassuring her that he was still there.

"So before we get this lovely reunion underway," the last remaining member of the group piped up, "think we could call Leo and get him to heal so we don't have to worry about Chris beating the hell out of Jake here for his little sister being injured? Cause um…none of us can heal."

Piper shook her head as if to clear out of the cobwebs and nodded, not questioning how they knew about her ex-husband. If they really were from the future, it would be natural that they'd know about him."LEO!"

Blue and white lights filled the room and as they cleared, the image of their former whitelighter turned Elder greeted them. An odd combination of worry and curiousness found its way onto his face as he realized that he was in the attic and not where ever it was that the Elders met. "Piper, what's wrong?"

"Heal please!" Piper said, gesturing to the wounded Mel. Leo, shooting Chris a questioning look, knelt down beside the younger girl and placed his hands above the wound. A bright yellow light began to glow out of his hands and a few minutes later, Mel was sitting up—no sign of the wound evident on her body. Phoebe wished the same could be said for the few scars she could see as the slightly small shirt lifted up but the younger girl pulled it down before anyone could comment.

"Now that's more like it!" Mel grinned and hopped up on to her feet. "Now, Chris I do believe you owe me a hug because I did not get blasted by a demon and travel through time for you to just stand there like a big doofus!"

Chris chuckled but wrapped her into his arms. To Phoebe, it almost looked as though he was using her the way a drowning man would use a life raft. Though to be fair, Mel's grip seemed to equal that of her brother's. How long had it been since the siblings had seen each other?

"Wait," Chris said and Mel groaned as he broke up the hug. "What are you doing here Mel? _How_ are you here? I thought I took the spell with me when I came back so no one could follow me."

"You did," the other girl nodded and pushed off the wall to approach the pair. "But we heard about what happened to Bianca and your aunt had memorized the spell. Plus we wanted to make sure you were okay."

"By traveling back in time?"

"Hey, I didn't say it was a particularly smart plan!"

"When are your plans ever smart, Emily?" Chris asked with a smirk. It had almost seemed as if the four of them had forgotten that the sisters and Leo were in the room. Not that they were complaining or anything—this was one of the few times they got to see an unguarded Chris.

"Nice to see you too," Emily chuckled and pulled her blonde hair into a pony tail. "Man it's bright around here."

"Question," Phoebe piped up, unable to resist speaking, even if it did run the risk of bringing Chris back to the present. "But who are you?"

The three newbies looked over at her with looks of shock visible,while Chris seemed to slip back into his emotionless mask he had been wearing ever since he came back from the future. It really was a little disturbing watching him do that. It just served to remind Phoebe that Chris didn't really have anyone to talk to in their time period. Hopefully, that would change with the arrival of the new time travelers.

"I swear to god Chris if you utter 'future consequences', I will orb you out that window!" Mel growled as Chris was about to open his mouth. " We had to deal with you saying that for three months before you left us! They saw us come through the portal and besides that, Jake already revealed I'm related to you!"

"Yeah why _are_ you with Jake anyway?" Chris raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I thought we had 'vanquish on sight' orders when it came to him ever since he changed sides."

Mel chuckled nervously. "Yeah, um… about that—"

"Your sister's dating him," Emily said as bluntly as possible and walked over to the Book of Shadows to flip through it. Piper couldn't help but be reminded of Chris' actions the first time she met him—back during the Titan incident when Paige had been turned to stone. "But then again Jake did save her from getting captured and sent to the dungeons, thereby avoiding torture at the Dark Lord's demons; hence the temporary non-vanquished state he's currently in."

Chris blew out an irritated sigh, one the girls and Leo were very familiar with. Though none of them missed the slight pause Chris took when Emily mentioned the 'Dark Lord', whoever he was. It was clear that no matter what was going on, Chris was going to care more about his sister's safety before petty things like who she was dating. "You're _dating_ him?"

"Did you miss the part where he saved my life?!" Mel shouted back. "I swear to god Chris, I do not need your overprotective crap right now! I've already heard about it from almost everyone back home. I'm sixteen— I think I can make decisions about my life by now!"

"Oh really? Because you could have seriously screwed up the future by just being here! I was doing just fine!"

"Really? Then how was Bianca able to bring you back to the future without your _powers_? Shouldn't you have fought her off? Or did the big bad overly prepared witchlighter get caught off guard by his fiancée?!" Mel shot back and as soon as the words left her lips, she looked as if she instantly regretted them, if the widening of her eyes and the slight bite of her lip held any indication. "Oh Chris, that wasn't what I meant."

"Don't worry about it," Chris muttered and then sighed. Phoebe and Paige inwardly pouted as they watched Chris wall himself back up. It was interesting to see the more emotional side of him. Too bad it only seemed to appear when people came back from the future though. "What are we going to do? There's no spell to get you back and I'm not about to send you to the future if he's on your tail."

"They could just stay here," Paige suggested. "I mean, if you're going to go on demon hunts by yourself, it couldn't hurt to have a little backup, could it?"

Three pairs of eyes landed on Chris and the sisters felt very amused at the looks of disbelief that were on the time traveler's faces. It was if they didn't know what the whitelighter was doing in his spare time. To be fair though, it was entirely possible that they didn't but as they knew Chris, it shouldn't be too much to ask that they'd have a hint of his plan right?

"Demon hunts?" Jake hissed, one eyebrow raised and his arms crossed in a rather brave stance for someone on Chris' vanquish on sight list. "You're supposed to be protecting the sisters, not wiping out the entire demon population."

"Yeah, when's the last time you took a break?" Emily asked, leaning against the stand which held the Book of Shadows. "Cause no offense but you look and smell like shit."

"How is that not offensive?" Chris asked, slightly amused but anyone with eyes could see that Chris was still incredibly tense. Then again, it could have had something to do with the now combination of both Jake and Leo and not the ever deteriorating nature of his health.

"Chris," Mel warned and Chris rolled his eyes. "Chris, we need to talk. In private."

This got Chris' attention but unfortunately it also captured the attention of the sisters.

"What about?" Phoebe asked and Mel donned the same emotionless mask as her brother. Despite being used to it from Chris, seeing the normally animated girl do it was particularly freaky. Especially as Phoebe could still feel the pain, anger and love that was coming from the younger girl.

"Future consequences," Mel told her and orbed herself and Chris out of the room—leaving her two compatriots in the attic.

"OH REAL NICE!" Jake shouted. " YOU KNOW WE CAN'T ORB, MEL!"

A shower of blue and white orbs lit up the room and as they cleared, Mel was shaking her head at him in amusement.

"You really think I'd leave you here to the sharks?" the younger girl asked and raised an eyebrow as Jake seemed to need time to think it over. "Never mind. Come on, we've got three seconds to talk to Chris before he disappears on us."

"Okay we do not want that to happen. Last time we ended up in Australia and Emily ended up spending five minutes wrestling a much needed vanquishing potion away from a kangaroo," Jake sighed. Mel chuckled but grabbed the other two and left in a shower of blue and white orbs before the others in the room could ask any questions.

The room was silent for a few minutes as everyone took the time to process what had just occurred.

"What the hell just happened?" Piper asked the question that was going through everyone's head.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

* * *

A/N: I do not own any characters that are canon to the Charmed series. Jake and Emily are my only original characters as Melinda does not appear in the show but does appear in the comics. Jury is still out about whether that is considered canon or not.

Shout out again to Swt. Charmed Fan for their continued work as an excellent beta!

Please let me know your thoughts and please be sure to leave a review! For those of you who may not know, I have a poll on my profile regarding my Works In Progress and their update order. I've added _Family Bonds_ to the poll so be sure to vote for it if you'd like to see this story updated more often.

* * *

Mel orbed back into the room in P3 where Chris was staying and couldn't help but be a little dismayed at the state her brother was living in. Granted, it was somewhat better than back in her time. At least here there was a roof over his head and guaranteed heat, along with the ability to get food and water. Even if it was confined to a small office area.

But Chris wasn't living here—he was simply surviving. Mel knew it was a risk coming back to the past, but she had to. After their Aunt Phoebe died, Chris had spiraled into a state of just barely doing enough to survive. An hour of sleep here, a bite of food there—it really added up—especially as Chris was asked to take over the rebellion. He'd take on sixteen hour days and no amount of effort on Mel's part could change it. The only thing that finally snapped him out of it was when the Elders finally allowed them to summon their mother.

After Bianca's death though, Mel knew that wasn't going to be an option this time around and that there was only one way to get through that thick Halliwell head of his. Even if that one way was one hundred percent guaranteed to get Chris mad at her.

Jake and Emily sat back, ready to enjoy the show as Mel approached Chris. For a while, no one spoke as Mel observed her big brother. It honestly was amazing that he and Wyatt had the same parents. Wyatt had the big frame while Chris was leaner. Wyatt oozed power while Chris had the quiet control of his abilities that always made one nervous when they were around him.

"Chris?" Mel asked, quietly sitting down next to her brother. "Look I'm sorry if I ruined your plans or potentially ripped a hole in the space-time continuum. We heard the news about Bianca and I thought you'd want to see a friendly face. Mom and the Aunts probably aren't the best at that right now are they?"

"No, they've been okay," Chris told her with a small smile. "Phoebe's got her empath power now so she's a little more understanding than her sisters. That reminds me, we've got to get all of you guys empath blocking potions. If anything, to give Phoebe some relief."

Chris sighed and Mel chuckled as she could see her brother fight against the wall he'd created for himself. It was rare that she'd get to see the man he used to be but there were times her fun loving, rule breaking, non-future caring brother would break through. Those were good days.

"What did you want to talk about?" Chris asked as he turned his head toward Mel. Mel couldn't bear to let him know just what had been going on in the future since he left—not with him looking so defeated. Well, as defeated as Chris could possibly look, that is.

"It can wait," Mel said softly and Chris shot her a look, almost as if he knew she was hiding something from him.

"Mel…"

"So what's the plan?" Jake asked, ruining the moment for the siblings and reminding Chris of his presence—not a smart thing for someone on the witchlighter's 'vanquish on sight' list. "I mean, we are here to plan right? Please tell me there's a reason why we're sitting in a tight room in P3 that involves saving our future."

"Shut it Jake," Emily lightly scolded and shook her head but turned to the siblings. "Your boyfriend's right though, Melinda. Why _are_ we in P3?"

"I directed her orbs," Chris answered, seemingly ignoring the crack about Jake being Mel's boyfriend—Mel hoped. "Anyway, the sisters would never come in here unless they needed something and Leo ignores the place like the plaque. Unless I was shot with a darklighter arrow or otherwise called him, I doubt he'd ever come in here."

"Why? Isn't there any other place we could possibly use that might have more resources?" Emily asked and Chris sighed, causing the other three to roll their eyes in amusement. Chris' frustrated sighs were something they were very much used to.

"Look, I didn't have a choice," Chris told them. "I didn't exactly come here with a wad of cash and this was the only thing the sisters would trust me with. It's the best place to keep knowledge about the future away from the insatiable curiosity of the sisters."

" True, but they couldn't have trusted you with a shower?" Melinda asked, lightly gasping as the full effect of Chris' constant strain on his body caught up with him. It honestly was the worse she had ever smelled him—and she grew up during Wyatt's football phase where he'd refuse to wash his sports socks. "For Elders' sake Chris! You smell worse than Aunt Prue's demon revealing potion—and that had a drop of bat guano in it!"

"Could you say that a little louder? I don't think the sisters heard you at the manor!" Chris snapped but stopped as he ran a hand through his hair. "It's not that bad. Besides, I sneak in and do some laundry on occasion."

"Does that also involve eating and showering?" Melinda asked and Chris narrowed his eyes a smidge.

"I don't recall asking for a keeper, Melinda."

"Well take better care of yourself and maybe you wouldn't need one," Melinda told him, causing Jake and Emily to bite back their snickers and Chris to roll his eyes. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder how I'm the younger one of the two of us."

Melinda sighed and before Chris knew what she was doing, the youngest Halliwell began reciting words she thought she'd never have to say again.

 _Though we're running out of time_

 _Please rid Chris of all his grime_

 _and if it's not too much a fuss_

 _give him some food so he doesn't pass out on us_

"Nice one," Jake chuckled as a series of bright lights surrounded the brunette witch—blocking him from view. As the lights faded, a much cleaner and healthier looking Chris emerged. Even his shirt looked cleaner.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?!" Chris hissed.

"A thank you would suffice," Mel told him, her eyes narrowing slightly in a way that would mean danger to anyone paying attention. "Now we can actually focus instead of being worried about passing out due to your body odor. I mean, Jake is one thing since you know, the headquarters lost access to clean water last week. But come on Chris!"

"The underworld doesn't exactly have access to running water," Chris told her, crossing his arms over his chest. "Also that spell reeked of personal gain. If one Elder finds out, we could be sent back or worse."

"You know," Emily said, stepping between the two siblings, "just say 'thank you' and let's move on. We don't have that much time and I for one didn't leave one time where two Halliwell siblings were duking it out just to see it happen again."

Silence filled the room for a few minutes before Chris nodded. Knowing that was as good as she was going to get, Mel sat down on the couch and couldn't help but wonder why it felt so strange. Maybe it was the fact that it wasn't as beat up as it was in the future, but that wouldn't explain the odd dents in the sofa cushions, as if more weight were in certain areas than others.

"Shoes off the bed Mel," Chris told her as he pulled out some of his files. He wasn't even facing her, it just seemed to be habit and Melinda rolled her eyes as she moved her feet off of the sofa. But then Melinda realized what her older brother had said and it all seemed to click.

"You're living _here_!" she exclaimed, jumping off the couch. It was unbelievable! Mel couldn't believe that her mother had sent Chris to live in the office of her club instead of offering him a space in the manor! It was his home after all! Jake sighed and shook his head.

"Is this the best time to get into this?" he told her but then stopped for a minute. "She's right though. You're living _here_ and not in the manor?"

Emily chuckled. "Where could he go? It's not like Phoebe and Paige would have given up their rooms for someone they just met and I doubt Chris wanted to go sleep with the nexus. Plus, none of them would trust Chris with the Book if they were anything like they are now. Honestly, let's drop it shall we?"

Mel sighed but nodded, all set to agree until on thing popped into her mind. "Umm…where are the rest of us going to stay?" she asked, causing everyone to pause what they were doing. This was going to throw a major wrench in their plans if there was no place for the other three to sleep.

Before anyone could answer, Chris tilted his head up and sighed. "Piper's calling. She wants Mel too."

"Why can't I hear her?" Mel asked, slightly jealous of her brother's ability to hear their mother's voice.

"You're not her whitelighter," Chris told her. "Emily, can you and Jake start looking for a potential lead on who turns Wyatt? I have to go see what Piper wants."

"Sure thing Chris," Emily nodded, already sitting on the sofa and going through the files that Chris handed to her. "By the way, tell your mother that she really needs better lighting in this room. The overhead lights are killer and I left my glasses back in the future."

"Mom usually has a spare pair of her reading glasses in the drawer of her desk," Mel told her as she got ready to orb back to the manor. "If not, I'll try to sneak Aunt Phoebe's pair out of her room before I head back here."

Emily nodded and the two siblings orbed back to the Manor, where the sisters and Leo were still standing in the attic where they had left them.

"What's up Piper?" Chris asked and Mel couldn't help but wonder how her brother managed to stay composed while facing their mother. Leo, she got—honestly, she admired Chris' self control when it came to their father. Seeing Piper though must have been killing him. Mel knew it was killing her.

"You take off with three people from the future without so much as a 'goodbye' and the first thing you ask when you get back is 'what's up Piper?'" the eldest Charmed witch asked, her left eyebrow twitching and Mel took a slight step away from Chris. She knew the danger signs of her mother's temper just as much as he did.

"Actually, that was my fault," Mel said, directing the attention on to her. "I wanted some one on one time with my brother. We didn't mean to distress you. In fact, Jake and Emily are still at P3 if Leo wants to go and confirm."

Piper turned to face Mel and it almost seemed as if the older witch didn't know how to respond. Maybe Piper spent too much time around Chris' attitude problem and came to expect it from everyone else?

"Are you sure you're related to him?" Paige asked, causing Mel to chuckle while Chris rolled his eyes.

"Pretty sure," Mel told them, a smile still on her face. "But anyway, was there something you guys needed or were you just making sure Chris wasn't going back to his demon hunting ways and dragging me along for the ride?"

She could feel Chris' glare on the back of her head, but Mel didn't really care. Besides, it was a younger sister's right to annoy and needle the heck out of their older siblings—and she was due for at least six months worth of annoying Chris.

"Hey Piper, we thought of something when we were at P3," Chris said and everyone turned toward him. "Where're they going to sleep? Since _most_ of us are convinced that they should stay in this time period, they're going to need a place to sleep."

Everyone in the room paused, as if uncertain about the possible answers. However, the room in P3 wasn't large enough for all four of them to stay together comfortably. Honestly, it was barely big enough to fit Chris.

"Two people could sleep in the basement," Phoebe suggested. "We've got a couple of cots we could put together."

"Phoebs, do you really think anyone wants to sleep in our basement?" Piper turned and asked. "Even the people from the future probably know about the nexus our house was built on."

"Yes we do," Mel nodded. "Also, no one wants to sleep near that thing. But if it's our only option, we're more than willing to make it work."

"What about the attic?" Paige cut in. "There's more than enough room for them to stay here."

"Four people, Paige?" Leo asked and Mel could feel the tension rolling off her brother. If it wasn't for the fact that she wasn't incredibly fond of Leo either, she'd probably be elbowing her brother in the stomach to try to get him to relax. "Also, we don't know anything about these new travelers. The last time we came across someone from the future, she tried to kill Chris. Do you really want them that close to the Book of Shadows unguarded?"

"Okay!" Chris stated, clapping his hands as to avoid the topic of Bianca coming up, as well as to try to prevent Mel from snapping about that last comment Leo made. The last thing Chris needed was for Mel to give something away in her anger. "We are still nowhere in this. How about this? Jake and I can stay over in P3 while Emily and Mel set up shop in the attic? At least then we've got test runs in both locations and we can tell if the office can fit more than one person."

Mel looked over her shoulder at her brother. "Why's Jake with you? You're not exactly his number one fan at the moment."

"Because I want him nowhere near you right now," Chris muttered but Mel still heard it and honestly did elbow him in the ribs this time. Hopefully, this overprotective crap would be over with soon.

 _It probably will be—until the sisters find out Jake's half demon,_ Mel thought to herself. _Then the whole thing will start all over again! Plus with the Halliwell tradition of dating a demon, it might be enough to give us away. Then Chris will really be pissed._

"It sounds like a good plan," Phoebe said, almost reluctantly. "At least this way, we know where they are and can keep an eye on them if necessary."

"It's the best plan we've got honestly," Paige told her with a shrug. "We really should come up with a 'person arriving from the future' contingency plan. Something tells me we might need it again."

Mel was going to respond but a sharp wail on the baby monitor killed the comment before it could even form. She'd completely forgotten that Wyatt was in this time as well, only not as a power hungry dictator but as an innocent little baby who loved his family.

"Wyatt?" Chris asked and Piper nodded.

"Sounds like he's up from his nap," Leo said and Mel almost burst out laughing. The Dark Lord Wyatt Halliwell, waking up from a nap—didn't exactly strike fear into the hearts of witches and demons alike. "I'll go check on him."

"I'll go too," Piper sighed. "We're expecting a shipment at the club and I guess I should go warn the new guys."

"I'll take care of that Piper," Chris told her but Piper shot him a look that was eerily familiar to the ones their mother would throw.

"I'm not the one with family in town," she told him. "Take time off of the demon hunts and spend them with your sister. The demons will be there tomorrow."

Paige nodded. "As much as I'd love to stay, I have a date with Richard tonight and well, I'd like to get there a little early."

"Okay, can you give me a ride though?" Phoebe asked as they walked toward the door. "Elise has been calling about this article and our internet is going super slow that it might just be better if I hand it to her in person rather than age five years."

Mel couldn't help but stare at them as they walked off. Was that really it? Were they more concerned with their jobs and personal lives than finding out who turned Wyatt evil?

"Wait," Mel turned to her brother with a bit of shock in her voice. "Did they just leave us _alone_ with the Book of Shadows?"

"Looks like it," Chris nodded, a smirk beginning to form on his face.

"Any chance the sisters have come up with a vanquishing spell for Barbas while you've been here?" Mel asked, looking over her shoulder to make sure that none of the sisters or Leo were going to come back up the stairs. "He's been on the Dark Lord's side, decimating the resistance and I'm much inclined to remove a key player from that side of the chess board so to speak."

"If they have, they haven't written it down," Chris told her. "Why? Looking for a demon to vanquish?"

"If I leave you alone, you're going to do it anyway," Mel shrugged. "Besides, it's been ages since we've had a good sibling vanquish session. I'm sure there's a nice lower level demon who'd be a good match."

Chris chuckled and opened up the book. As he flipped through the pages, Mel couldn't help but run her hand over one of the pages. It felt good to actually feel the book again, rather than have to contend with the hologram Wyatt had set up in the Manor museum.

"How about this one?" Mel suggested, pointing to the entry on Demonic Bounty Hunters. "Bounty Hunters are low level enough that no one would actually notice they were gone."

"Yeah, but they target other demons," Chris told her. "They're almost neutral and I don't see a Demonic Bounty Hunter going after Wyatt."

"Aren't you the one who always says 'appearances are misleading'?" Mel asked and Chris shook his head at her. Knowing when he'd been beat, Chris quickly jotted down a bit on the Demonic Bounty Hunters and made to put it into his pocket when he felt the entry he'd put there just this morning. He'd been distracted by the arrival of his sister.

"Chris?" Mel asked after a few minutes of silence. "You okay?"

"How do you feel about going up against a different demon?" Chris asked, pulling out the entry causing Mel to smirk.

"Why am I not surprised?" Mel asked. "Who's the unlucky demon?"

"Klea," Chris said and the smirk fell right off her face as she whirled around and glared at her brother.

"You want to go after the last living member of the Brotherhood of the Thorn?! Are you _crazy_?"

"Look, she's more likely to turn Wyatt than a Bounty Hunter is," Chris countered, not before looking over his shoulder to make sure there was no one standing behind him. "Are you coming or not?"

Mel sighed but reached into her pocket to pull out a spare hair tie she had lying around. It was always better to hunt demons without fishing bits of hair out of your mouth or brushing it out of your eyes. "Like I'd let you take on an upper level demon without me!"

With that, the two siblings orbed down to the Underworld to begin looking for the demon de jour.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

* * *

A/N: I do not own any of the characters with the exception of Jake and Emily.

Thank you so much for everyone who's been enjoying this story and a special thank you to Swt Charmed Fan for their great work in Betaing this story!

Hope you all enjoy and please feel free to leave a review!

* * *

The underworld was the same as how Mel remembered it from the few times she ventured down there as a teen—hot, rock-filled and just oozing the feeling of evilness everywhere you went. It honestly made her skin crawl at times but for right now, Mel was content to ignore the feelings. She was demon hunting with her brother again. There was nothing in the world that could make that feel wrong. Except five hours of non-stop walking through the underworld when you were pretty much running on empty.

"So do you know where we'll find her?" Mel asked after a while, using conversation to ignore the feeling of hunger coursing through her body. There was only so much rocky terrain one could look at before getting bored out of their minds.

"I've got a demonic contact close by," Chris told her, ducking to avoid getting his head impaled on a stalagmite. "Unfortunately, with such a big target, I might have to promise something I won't be able to keep."

"What's that?"

"Immunity from the Charmed Ones," he told her and Mel couldn't find it in her to care that her brother was making deals with demons. It's what they'd been doing since the Rebellion began honestly. Anyone who thought it was a bad idea hadn't lived in the hellscape that San Fransisco would become in about twenty years. Either that, or they were some holier-than-thou Elder who just had to be right all the time.

"How often have you promised that?" she whispered as they ducked down to avoid being spotted.

"Not too often," he told her, smirking as they slunk past two demons and took a left. Mel hoped the walking would end soon—it hadn't been too long since she'd gotten hit by a demonic energy ball and although the wound was healed, it still took a lot out of her physically. Plus, Chris had the benefit of being in this time longer. Even as food deprived as he was, Chris had at least regained some of his muscle mass and endurance.

 _I've got to get back into shape,_ Mel thought as she hopped over a stray boulder only to run straight into Chris. Her brother had stopped without any warning; something that would have been appreciated about five minutes ago.

"Well, well," a feminine voice called out and Mel understood now why Chris had stopped. There was no point in continuing the hunt for the demonic contact when Klea had already killed him. Well, Mel assumed it was him. Honestly, it was pure luck they'd stumbled upon her. "The Seer was right. I am next on the list of the Charmed One's Whitelighter."

"Something tells me you're not going to go quietly," Chris said, swiftly slipping into his fighting stance. Klea laughed and it was enough to send shivers running down Mel's spine.

"What demon would welcome their own death?" she asked, pulling an athame out of seemingly nowhere.

"Why the blade?" Mel called out, slipping into her own stance. "We both know you could kill us just by touching us."

"Where's the fun in that?" Klea asked, giving an evil smile in Mel's direction. "Once I kill the Charmed One's Whitelighter, that will elevate my rank in the Underworld. But I'll need to show that I've actually taken him down."

"Chris, watch out!" Mel called out as Klea swung, almost gutting Chris with the athame. Chris responded in kind, using his telekinesis to knock Klea into the nearby wall. She shimmered off, only to return toward Chris' right and tried to stab the younger man with the athame. Mel deflected the attack by orbing the athame away from Klea and into her own hand. Jabbing it at the demon, Mel growled as Klea shimmered out of reach. However, the brief moment of distraction was all that the demon needed as Mel was met with a knee to the midsection and winced as Klea sliced her arm with the athame. Mel twisted out of the demon's grasp, causing the athame to fall out of Klea's hands and to the ground. Klea, in turn, attempted to turn the attack on Mel by summoning a new athame and swinging it toward Mel's stomach. Thankfully though, Mel deflected by levitating up into the air.

Had her reflexes been a second off, Mel probably would have seen her insides sprawling all over the floor along with a pissed off older brother.

"So you won't fight back?" Klea asked, staring at Mel intently as if she had never seen someone like her before.

"This isn't my fight," Mel told her, hoping to keep the demon distracted so Chris could grab the athame that was on the ground and they could vanquish her. Then, hopefully, they could make it home before anyone realized what they snuck away to do.

"Oh? Not even to save your mate?" Klea snarled and then shimmered away. Mel scanned her surroundings, desperately trying to search for her in order to get a warning to Chris—and ignoring the feeling of disgust coming from the idea of mating with her own brother. It wasn't until she heard a sharp gasp of pain that she found the demon in question—just as she was pulling the athame out of Chris's side.

"CHRIS!" Mel shouted, anger toward the demon and fear for her brother overtaking her. She landed and lashed out toward Klea, using her own telekinesis to stun the demon in order for the two siblings to orb out and back to the manor. Once there, Mel was very happy to see that the attic was as they had left it—empty of all Halliwells and whitelighters.

"M-Mel, leave it," Chris told her, wincing as he tried to stand up straight. Mel could see his light blue shirt quickly gain a reddish-brown stain that just seemed to keep growing. "I'll deal with it later. R-right now, we need to see what can be done so we can launch another attack against Klea."

"No, what you need to do is sit down and let me take care of that," Mel told him, using the brief moment he took to straighten himself to force him on to a nearby couch. "The last thing the resistance needs is for you to bleed out. You might be a fast healer but if we don't get that wound taken care of fast, you'll die of blood loss."

Chris sighed but as there were no more arguments coming from her brother, Mel took that as a sign to begin. Tearing the shirt off, she couldn't help but be envious of the minimal scaring on her brother's torso. Wyatt had instructed his demons to never harm Chris, that the honor should be left up to him. Honestly, it was almost like Voldemort and Harry Potter with them.

Of course, sometimes the demons didn't listen but that was fine because Chris would just stitch himself up once he got back to headquarters. Most of his scars were on his legs or arms anyway so they were easy to reach. Not so with this one today.

"This may sting a little," Mel muttered as she quickly hunted for a needle and thread in her great-grandmother's old sewing things. She could hear Leo downstairs and she knew the sooner she got this done, the sooner they could leave. "Ah-ha!"

Fishing the thread through the needle as swiftly as she could, Mel pinched together Chris' skin to allow for an easier time sewing the wound up. Breathing in quickly, she poked the needle through as quickly as she could. Thankfully, the only sound was a brief moan from Chris that she knew couldn't have been loud enough to reach Leo's ears. How very wrong she was.

"What are you doing?" a voice called from behind as she was about four or five loops in. Thankfully, Mel didn't jump or do any jerky movements. That might have resulted in a very interesting scar for Chris. Besides, she knew that voice anywhere. She didn't need to look to see that it was her father standing in the doorway.

"Stitching this moron up," she told him, still stitching up the wound. The last thing she wanted was for something to go wrong. They needed Chris. "Demon hunt went awry."

"Why didn't you call out?" Leo asked, walking in closer and setting Wyatt down in a playpen that was protected by a circle of crystals. A pointless waste of crystals as Wyatt could shield himself but Mel honestly wasn't going to fault first time parents for being a little overprotective. It was strange but Mel honestly hoped in that moment that Leo would recognize her as his daughter. She looked like an honest combination of the two of them, with Leo's light brown hair and Piper's long slender frame, but knew it was probably impossible. They hadn't recognized Chris yet and he was practically Piper with Leo's eyes.

"Just one more," Mel muttered, ignoring Leo's question. There were so many different reasons why she didn't call him and she didn't have time to go into them all. Looking down at her handiwork, Mel frowned. Chris would have to be extremely careful for the next few days—the stitches wouldn't be as strong as ones with medical thread but this was the best she had on such short notice. Now all she needed was some gauze and some tape and she'd be set.

"Where do you guys keep your first aid supplies?" she turned and asked Leo, who seemed almost shocked by the treatment she'd given Chris. What, did he expect her to just let him bleed out? Maybe it would have been better if he could have passed on the healing power to her as well as Wyatt so that way there wouldn't be this problem!

Shaking her head, Mel sighed. She knew it wasn't right to hold a grudge against Leo—after all, he couldn't control which sibling got which power.

"Leo?" she prompted after a few minutes of silence where the Elder had not answered her question. "First aid supplies?"

"Oh!" Leo jolted back to attention and Mel followed her father's gaze to see just what he was looking at. Any hostility she had toward the Elder vanished when she saw the slight scaring on Chris' chest, right by his heart. Bianca normally had no problem stripping someone's powers and leaving no trace of her action—unless the victim was someone she cared about. In that case, the action the Phoenix would take would be more stiff. Almost as if she was fighting against her own powers.

That act would always leave a scar on the victims body—even if they managed to get their powers back as Chris had. Though, she'd have to remember to ask her brother why the scar would cause that reaction in Leo.

Mel was so deep in thought that she hadn't even noticed the blue and white orbs signaling Leo's departure and return. In his hands, he held multiple packs of gauze and tape, along with neosporin. The arrival of the miracle drug, as Mel liked to call it, was something that she hadn't expected but greatly welcomed. It would help to avoid a more noticeable scar.

"Thanks," Mel said, taking the items and quickly got to work dressing the wound. Even though she'd closed it, Mel knew that she had to work fast to dress the wound. Chris had become unconscious due to the combination of blood loss and exhaustion hence why she was able to stitch him up with little trouble. The problem would come when he started dreaming. You didn't get far in their rebellion without gaining a few nightmares.

One wrong movement though and Chris could tear his stitches. The last thing Mel needed was for her brother to bleed out in his sleep.

Silence filled the room as Mel continued to work on dressing her brother's wound. While her supplies weren't limitless, there were more than she had to work with in the future so Mel was going to make the most of what she got.

"There," she muttered, taping the last piece of gauze to Chris. "At least this way, he'll have a bit of a challenge tearing this off."

Leaning back, Mel didn't even notice the blood covering her shirt or the sweat covering her brow. All she knew was the complete exhaustion she felt and she quickly changed directions so that her back was against the sofa Chris was currently passed out on. Leaning her head back so that it touched the cushioned part, Mel swore that she'd not be moved until at least an hour had passed.

Her friends, of course, didn't get the memo for as soon as she made that mental declaration, Mel heard the dulcet tones of Jake and Emily calling for her. Normally, she wouldn't care but with Leo in the room, she couldn't risk Jake shimmering in and blowing that part of the secret.

She could always ask Leo to go get them but there was no way he'd leave his precious first born here with a stranger and the Charmed One's passed out whitelighter—both of whom he probably didn't trust. Chris had filled her in during their five hour trek through the underworld.

 _"So anything I should know?" Mel asked around their third hour of traipsing through the underworld. She just couldn't understand the appeal her brothers found by being here. Give her a nice sunny day and a cauldron full of ingredients to build a vanquishing potion any day. "You know, just so I don't make a massive faux-pax and say something stupid."_

 _"Leo doesn't trust me," Chris told her, hopping over a fallen boulder. "I think the sisters are slowly coming around but you can never tell with them."_

 _"Oh? And why does Leo not trust you?"_

 _"Cause I won't tell him or the sisters what happens to Wyatt in the future ," Chris told her and Mel actually snorted in amusement._

 _"How many times have the sisters time traveled? They should know better than anyone that there are things you just don't tell people when you travel through time!"_

 _"Yeah," Chris smirked. "Just don't say something like that in front of them. They're not stupid and something like that would definitely get one of the sisters' attention."_

 _"Can't I just claim that we learned it in Magic School?" Mel asked, groaning as she tripped over a crack in the ground. Chris, shaking his head in amusement, stopped to offer her a hand up. Once up, he steadied her with his other hand grasping her arm in a way that had been done many times before._

 _"You know, if you'd pick up your feet when you walked, stuff like that wouldn't happen," he told her and Mel rolled her eyes at his retreating form._

Jake's call dragged her out from her memories and Mel groaned at the thought of getting up. Of course, that wouldn't actually stop her from seeing what her boyfriend and best friend wanted.

"You okay?" Leo asked, looking over at her with a hint of concern in his eyes. Then again, he did walk in on her stitching up Chris from a failed demon hunt so maybe it wouldn't be out of the norm for him to care. Now that he asked, Mel realized that the pain from the fight was coming back. Hard.

"I hate adrenaline rushes," she muttered, tearing off a bit of her own shirt to tend to the injury to her arm that Klea had so kindly given to her. The pain to her abdomen was something she'd just have to ignore, unless it grew to be something serious. She'd address it then.

"Mel?" Leo asked and Melinda realized she had never answered Leo's question. Huh, that seemed to be a pattern with her.

"Jake and Emily keep calling but I barely have the energy to stand up to pee, let alone orb," she told him in a rather manner of fact tone. It was funny how in some ways, she and Chris were polar opposites—when she got tired, Mel became an open book. It's no wonder why so many of Wyatt's attempt to break her for information on the rebellion included some form of sleep deprivation.

"Do you have to pee?" Leo asked in a way that told Mel that her future father really didn't want to know the answer.

"No," Mel picked up her head and looked at him. "Look, I'd normally never ask this since you know, future won't save itself if I'm sitting on my butt all day. But someone has to make sure Chris doesn't do anything stupid when he wakes up so could you orb Jake and Emily here?"

Leo paused for a moment and Mel followed his gaze toward Wyatt. Sighing, she pushed up off the floor to sit up a bit. Maybe she could present a better argument if she didn't look like she was ready to pass out at a moment's notice.

"I'll look after Wyatt," she said and despite how she felt about the man Mel couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness as Leo shot her a skeptical look. Did the man really think that she would let something happen to the infant version of her eldest brother? "Look at me Leo! Even if you don't trust me, surely you could see that I'm barely in any shape to do anything other than look after the toddler surrounded by crystals."

Leo did have the decency to look slightly abashed after she said that and quickly orbed out. Three seconds later, the blue and white orbs were back—and not a moment too soon as Mel could smell a growing stench coming from Wyatt's direction. After they cleared, Jake stepped back from Leo and bent down—his hands on his thighs and his head facing the floor, almost as if he was trying to stop himself from throwing up.

"How is it you're dating a half-whitelighter and yet orbing makes you nauseous?" Emily asked, shaking her head in amusement until the smell of Wyatt's soiled diaper reached her nose. "Ugh! What is that?"

"Will someone please change the Twice Blessed?" Mel groaned. "Cause it's not going to be me."

"At least it's not so bad with my head down here," Jake told them, his head still down near his knees.

Leo shook his head at their antics and walked over to his son's playpen. Clearing the crystals, he picked up his firstborn and walked out of the room. Once she was sure he was gone, Mel sighed in relief.

"So what'd you find out?" she asked Emily and Jake, who had straightened up. "I assume that's the reason why you called right? Because you found out what turned Wyatt or at least have a lead?"

"No we were calling because we hadn't heard from you in five hours," Emily said, folding her arms over her chest. "Why are you sitting on the floor? Why is your shirt torn and why is a piece wrapped around your arm? Also, why does Chris have a mountain of gauze taped to him?"

"Mel, please tell me you didn't go demon hunting alone," Jake groaned. His girlfriend was first and foremost a Halliwell and demon vanquishes were like catnip to them. Somehow, he wondered how she agreed to date him in the first place.

"Of course not," Mel shook her head, almost offended that Jake had so little faith in her. "I was with Chris."

"That does not make me feel better!"

Emily snorted in amusement and then gestured to the stitched up and dressed wound on Chris' abdomen. "So, how'd he get the war wound?"

"Botched vanquish," Mel told them, hoping the two of them would get the memo and leave well enough alone. Alas, that was not the case.

"Who was the lucky demon?" Jake asked. Mel sighed but knew there was no way to prevent them from knowing. Chris would probably tell them as soon as he woke up and the last thing Mel needed was for Jake and Emily to be mad at her for not telling them about this demon.

"Klea."

There was a sudden silence and Mel knew without even looking at her friends that they were looking right at her.

"I'm sorry. Who was it you tried to vanquish by yourself after spending years sleep and nutrient deprived?" Emily asked even though Mel knew she heard her. "Melinda, is your brother hormonal or just plain crazy? You don't go after the last living member of the Brotherhood of the Thorn half cocked!"

"I know, trust me I know," Mel sighed and leaned her head back again—ready for whatever lecture the older girl had for her. If push came to shove, she could just direct the ire of her best friend toward her big brother. Odds are that wouldn't work but it was worth a try.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

* * *

A/N: I do not own anything with the exception of Jake and Emily. Mel, as mentioned before, maybe a toss up as she is not mentioned in the show but is mentioned in the comics.

*ducks projectiles* I am so sorry about the hold up with this chapter and that it's a little shorter than the other chapters have been. Real life got a little hectic (got a promotion at work with different hours, now I'm working five days a week, as opposed to the four days I was working on my old schedule. On the plus side, I'm only working 8 hours a shift instead of my old 10-hour shifts.) so there's less time for writing. But I promise I'm going to do my best to make sure this gets updated on a regular basis.

The poll is still open so please let me know which story should be updated next by voting! You can choose up to five options so, if you haven't already done so, please vote!

Let me know what your thoughts on this chapter! I really appreciate any reviews or PMs sent my way!

* * *

Mel quickly found that Chris was not going to wake up anytime soon if the snores coming from his direction were any indication. Mel couldn't help but look around the familiar attic, amazed at how similar it was to the attic of her childhood. Obviously, there were some items that were newer, or more intact, but Mel just attributed that damage to demon attacks. It was so strange to be home and not be able to call it that-or be worried about being attacked by demons. At least, attacked by demons commanded by the Dark Lord.

"Wow," Jake said, looking slightly impressed as he stared at the older man and pulling Mel out of her thoughts. "I wouldn't have thought he'd stay asleep. If anything, I would think our fearless leader would wear himself out more worrying about us or about keeping his secret. You know, future consequences and all that jazz."

"Shut it, Jake," Mel hissed, her eyes darting to the stairs that Leo had just walked down. While talking at a normal volume wouldn't attract attention, Jake had a tendency to talk louder than most people. The last thing they needed was to get on the sister's radar; they'd never be left on their own again. "Just because we're in the past doesn't mean we get to become careless. If the sisters found out how big of a role Chris plays in the future, they are going to become protective-and when Chris feels protected, he also feels suffocated. We all know what happened the last time Chris felt suffocated."

"Don't remind me," Emily groaned, massaging her temples, while Jake shivered at the memory. "Being on Chris watch was not fun-we went through our entire stash of sleeping potions one week to get Chris to slow down so he wouldn't burn himself out. He still had 97 vanquishes that week."

"Don't give the sisters any ideas," Mel said with a smirk, turning away from her brother now that she knew he was fast asleep. "Remember what Paige said about his demon hunts? I'm sure they'd love to find some ways to slow him down if they haven't already."

"I thought Chris was going to orb right out of there," Jake said, chuckling at the memory. He sobered up as he looked over at Mel. Despite being their second in command, Mel's thoughts and feelings could always be read on her face. She hadn't nailed the poker face her mother and brothers were famous for, and Jake knew that being in the past and calling her mom and aunt 'the sisters' had to be killing her. Thankfully, she had experience calling her father by his first name so that wouldn't be as challenging.

"Mel-"

Before Jake could say anything more, an interruption by the name of Paige arrived in the attic, causing Jake and Emily to stiffen as if preparing for an attack. Mel, though, smiled softly at her aunt, wishing more than anything that she could call her that. But Chris probably hadn't revealed himself to her yet, so they had to keep the pretense. Even though she was sure it was killing her brother the same way it was killing her. She couldn't help but look forward to the day when she could tell her mom and her aunts the truth.

"Leo said that Chris was injured," Paige said, holding a soft quilt Mel would have known anywhere, considering the number of photographs of her and her brothers wrapped in it there were. Thankfully, her aunt had held off on asking any questions as to how Chris got injured, though Mel was sure either Piper or Phoebe would not show such restraint. "Thought a blanket would be nice. That sofa's not exactly the most comfortable to rest on when injured-I should know, I've been there a few times."

"You can't sweat the neurotic out of him," Mel told her while taking the quilt. It was slightly warm at about 86 degrees; a blanket would possibly be too much. "I know. I've tried."

"Aww! Well, it was worth a shot," Paige chuckled and couldn't help smiling at the small smirk that formed on Mel's face. Based on how Chris acted, it was safe to assume that the future the four of them came from was not a pleasant one, to say the least. Paige figured the least she could do was to make sure she made their lives a little easier. Besides, she felt a kinship with the younger girl; they were both half-whitelighter, half-witch after all."Anyway, if you guys are hungry, Piper's made dinner. It's downstairs."

"Thanks, Paige," Emily nodded and Mel shot her youngest aunt a smile. She didn't trust herself to speak, worried that she'd give something away. Paige was always the one she had the easiest time speaking with, so to be this close to her and know that they wouldn't have that relationship was killing her inside. 'We'll be down in a second."

Paige nodded and turned to go back downstairs. Mel watched her turn the corner before turning to the other two. There was one thing she needed to have cleared up.

"Okay, when did she get back from Richard's?" Mel asked, confusion evident in her voice.

"When did she leave for Richard's?" Emily responded, raising an eyebrow. "Remember Mel, your boyfriend and I don't know anything about what happened in those five hours you and Chris left us at P3 pouring over his notes."

"Oh, right," Mel said and at least had the decency to look sheepish. "Paige had left to go on her date with Richard, one of the many reasons Chris and I were left alone with the Book of Shadows."

"They just left you and Chris alone with the best demon hunting tool in their arsenal?" Jake groaned. Even if the sisters and Leo didn't know Mel was a Halliwell, wouldn't it make sense to at least assume that Chris and Mel would be similar as they were siblings? "I thought the sisters were more protective of the book for one thing!"

"Mel, if we have to start keeping watch on you and Chris, I'll lose what remaining shred of sanity I have left," Emily told her.

"I'm not that bad," Mel shook her head as if she couldn't believe they were having the discussion, ignoring her boyfriend's comment about the sisters protecting the book. They all knew that if evil did try to touch the Book of Shadows, the book had a way of protecting itself.

"Not that bad? You and your brother went after Klea of all demons! That would be like me going after the Source!"

"I was wondering when we'd get back to that," Mel muttered as she began unfolding the quilt and draping it over her brother. Thankfully, it wasn't as thick as she remembered it being so Chris wouldn't overheat. She should have known that Emily would have returned to the lecture about facing Klea with only Chris as backup. But there was no other choice; to risk the lives of any of the sisters was madness, Jake and Chris in the same area was asking for trouble and Emily had no active powers. Who else were they supposed to bring? Baby Wyatt? That would have been asking for trouble.

"Melinda, you are the second in command. If we lose you and Chris, the resistance is screwed," Emily stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You think I don't know that?" Mel snapped, turning toward Emily and stiffening at the use of her full first name. If the sisters or Leo heard that, it could be a give away to her true identity and she knew Chris would never forgive them if they were the reason the sisters found out who he was. "Gee Em, I seem to recall you being just fine with me going on the mission that landed us here."

"You think I could have stopped you?! Once you have your mind made up on something, there's no changing it!"

"Oh, like you're Miss Flexible when it comes to your decisions?!"

"When it comes to the resistance, I'd like to think I am!"

"Okay, let's table this discussion," Jake said as he noticed Chris start to turn, his eyes clenched as to block out the noise around him. "The last thing we should do is wake him up. He needs to heal and being awake is the worst thing for him-unless one of us can convince Leo to heal him."

"Shouldn't we?" Emily asked, still slightly heated from the argument with Mel. "After all, he needs to eat too and it might be easier to get Leo to heal him if it came from Chris."

"I'm sure Piper will let us save a plate for him," Jake told her after a few minutes of silence. It was as if Mel had wanted to be the one to say it but didn't out of fear that she would misspeak. "Should one of us watch him?"

"I'll stay here with Chris," Mel said, pulling a chair out. "I'm sure word has spread in the Underworld that Klea managed to stab Chris and stay alive. There'll be demons out for his head now that he's been weakened in their eyes."

"You sure?" Jake asked, looking at his girlfriend in concern. "We could just set up some crystals to ensure protection."

"I'm sure," Mel nodded and sat down at Chris' bedside. She knew the last thing her brother would want to see when he woke up was a bunch of crystals. Besides, now that she had her brother back, she wasn't ready to leave him-even if it was for her mother's amazing cooking, a skill only two of her children seemed to have inherited. Sadly, one of those children was now trying to take over the world while the other was unconscious in front of her.

"We'll bring you up some food," Emily told her, patting Chris on the shoulder. "You need to eat, Mel. Keep your strength up."

"I will," Mel said with a little half smile, trying to reassure her fellow companions as well as her self. "I just want to make sure that Chris pulls through."

"Of course he will," Jake said with a small smirk as he patted his girlfriend on the shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting way, before lightly kissing her cheek. "After all, his sister's made of some pretty stern stuff."

Mel chuckled and watched them go down the stairs that she had walked down so many times before. She wanted so much to go down there; to eat her mother's food again, to see her aunts laugh and not have her eldest brother be the most powerful being of evil that ever existed. She couldn't do it though. Leaving the dinner table would mean coming back to reality-and sometimes that was crueler than leaving it in the first place. She had to wonder how her brother had handled it.

"Wake up soon Chris," she whispered before grabbing his hand; not noticing in her worry the faint glow coming from her hands. "We need you. I need you. We've lost so many people, I can't lose you too."


End file.
